The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multinational deal that set two dozen people free. Gershkovich, Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual US-Russia citizenship, arrived on American soil shortly before midnight for a joyful reunion with their families, the AP reports. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were also there to greet them and dispense hugs all around. The freed Americans lingered on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, soaking up the moment of their return to the US.
They took selfies with family members and friends, shared hugs with Biden and Harris, and patted loved ones on the back and smothered them with kisses. At one point, Biden gave Whelan the flag pin off his own lapel. Biden trumpeted the exchange as a diplomatic feat while welcoming families of the returning Americans to the White House. But the deal, like others before it, reflected an innate imbalance: The US and allies gave up Russians charged or convicted of serious crimes in exchange for Russia releasing journalists, dissidents, and others imprisoned by the country's highly politicized legal system on charges seen by the West as trumped-up. "Deals like this one come with tough calls," Biden said. He added: "There's nothing that matters more to me than protecting Americans at home and abroad."
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